In connection with the planned shutdown on Visund on 9 April 2011, a hydrocarbon leak from a riser to a well occurred. The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has investigated this incident.

The Visund field is operated by Statoil. The field is located in the northern North Sea and has been developed with an integrated semi-submersible living quarters, drilling and process facility – Visund A (photo).

When the leak was discovered, 123 people were on board the facility. 63 were evacuated to other facilities in the area.

The investigation group’s mandate did not include assessing the potential of the incident. However, had the leak been any larger, hydrocarbon gas could have blown in on the facility and resulted in the possibility of ignition and explosion.

Through the investigation we have identified three nonconformities in relation to the regulations and two items with improvement potential.

We have asked Statoil to report on how the nonconformities will be handled and which improvement measures will be implemented.Da lekkasjen ble oppdaget var det 123 personer om bord på innretningen. 63 av disse ble evakuert til andre innretninger i området.